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It will be another season of on-the-job learning
for the young Magic as they continue to rebuild.
shots for last season’s Nos. 2, 3 and 4 scorers
Harris (14.6 ppg) and Vucevic (14.2) inside and
Oladipo (13.8) from everywhere.
Orlando was in the lower third of the League
last year from behind the arc and this season,
begins without four of their top six three-point
shooters—five if you count Oladipo, as leaders
Afflalo and Nelson, as well as E’Twaun Moore
and Doron Lamb also are gone, while Oladipo
(74 threes on .327 shooting) is hurt but will
be back. That puts the onus on Harkless (59
threes .383) and offseason acquisition Evan
Fournier. The 21-year-old 6-7 guard from
France, acquired from Denver in the deal for
Afflalo, begins his third NBA season with a
reputation as a long-range sharpshooter. He
earned that rep. last year in Denver, shooting
.376 from downtown and averaging north of
Fernando Medina/NBAE/Getty Images
10 ppg over the season’s second half, once he
recovered from a severe ankle injury. Ideally
the threat of Frye, a career .385 shooter from
three-point range, stepping out, and Ridnour,
a career .350 three-point shooter, will spread
the floor, not allowing teams to pack the lane,
opening passing lanes for Vucevic and Harris
to thrive in the paint and Oladipo to penetrate.
Having options will allow for an even more
unselfish approach than last season, when
Orlando handed out 21 assists per game, and
had at least 20 assists in a game 51 times.
They were 18-18 when they matched or outassisted
opponents. Oladipo is as close to an
end-of-game go-to as the Magic have, but
options abound and will present opportunities
for others to step up. Someone on the Magic
needs to step up in his absence. Still, there
could be many nights in
the season where the
Magic’s final score will
hover in the 90s.
Outlook
The rebuilding process
continues in Orlando
and while the Magic are
making the progress and
are headed in the right
direction, they aren’t
necessarily in the right
division to be taking baby
steps when the rest of
the Southeast rivals have
taken big leaps.
They weren’t handed
any favors with the injury
to Oladipo just before the
season opened. This was
a team prepared to suffer
the growing pains of being
a young team learning how to win while the
rest of the division is learning how to win in
postseason. The length of Oladipo’s injury
could make this season a step back.
Postseason will come soon for the
Magic, but not this year. What will be there
is tremendous effort, the kind that makes
division rivals wary of playing Orlando, and,
with such an athletic group, plenty of highlightreel
plays. Right now, 30 wins would be an
acceptable goal.
SPOTLIGHT:
Victor Oladipo
Oladipo is a high-character kid who knows how to overcome adversity. The first time he takes the court in 2014 will prove just how special
he is. The preseason was especially cruel for Oladipo, as first he suffered an MCL sprain, then, on Oct. 24, took a wicked—albeit accidental—
elbow to the face and suffered “a facial fracture,” forcing him to undergo surgery and start the 2014-15 campaign in his suit.
The talented 6-4, 210-pound guard, who missed two games last season, is a quiet, humble kid, whose game makes noise for him. He
recorded the Magic’s first triple-double in almost two years, going for 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, in the house of eventual Rookie
of the Year Michael Carter-Williams (Oladipo was runner-up) in December.
In February, he played 57 minutes in a game, the most ever by a Magic player and the most by an NBA rookie in 50 years. The first-round
pick out of Indiana in the 2013 Draft (second overall), two-time Rookie of the Month and representative in the Rising Stars Challenge at All-
Star, was among those chosen to practice with USA Basketball over the summer. Determined to be more of a leader, he talked with—and
more importantly, listened to—the likes of Kevin Durant and Paul George among others. He took their words to heart. Their most frequent
words were “Continue to do what you’re doing”—that is, work tirelessly on improving his game.